Most annoying part of being a musician?

pablito said:
I have music as a hobby only.
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Only? There is nothing wrong with it being a hobby. I love it this way. I wouldn't have it any other way.

When it comes down to it, the Hobbyist and the Professional aren’t really that different. We all play music because we HAVE to, we enjoy it, we couldn’t think of doing anything else. However, when you are depending on the money you make from playing for basic things, like food, clothes, the rent, you will find the differences from the Hobbyist and the Professional become fairly clear.

~ some guy
 
Zwiebelchen said:
To be perfectly honest, I love the sound of people saying that. Especially for a keyboard player/piano player. Nobody cares if you have a sheet in front of you if you are sitting behind the piano. And it's awesome if all I have to do is print the fucking sheet and give it to them and they can instantly play that song without any further explanation. This is not a curse, it's a blessing!
Our Piano player is usually the first to master any new song. Because all she needs is the sheet and - boom - done. Unless the sheet is wrong, she doesn't even need to play the song once.
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Reading is a great skill. I had a seminar with a guitarist who was in the SNL band and she was quite clear that she wouldn't have gotten the gig without being a skilled sight reader. The problem is, as I stated earlier, that a lot of those folks can't play squat without music in front of them. They have zero ability to play by ear and don't know enough music theory to follow a I-IV-V in C major. Finally, I don't want to have to source sheet music for every song my band is going to play. The expense and brain damage of assembling music for anybody (let alone everybody) makes it a losing proposition IMO.
 
Both are equally important, depending on the situation. Ask any session player. Pit guitarists can't get the gig without being a solid reader.
 
Pet Peeve 1: Vocalist that expects everything to be setup for them. I love the confused look on their face when I explain to them about "my equipment" and "their equipment". Most of them have never hooked up a Microphone or PA system. I am surprised how often they expect to show up for the sound check with everything ready to go. They get that funny look in their face when they can't find the mic. Singer: "Where's the mic?", Me: "Don't know, it's part of the singers equipment, you brought it, right?"

Pet Peeve 2: Damm Bass players that can drink so much and still play. They get drunk and just lean against the Bass amp.. Grrr.
Pet Peeve 3: Damm Drummers that can drink so much and still play. Hell, they get to sit through the whole gig. And often they get a heater or fan. Grrr..
Pet Peeve 4: I've got too many Pet Peeve's!!!

Loopie.. :)
 
Well sure there are many things.

The party thing for sure. "Hey play this song." And when I don't know the song they're like "I thought you said you've played guitar for 15 years... you should probably practice more". F*ck DJ's, iTunes and Spotify. :lol

This one is going to sound like I'm a dick but I'm sure that's not far off. Making other people work as hard as I do. Honestly, I do 90% of all tasks and usually it's the 10% of tasks that was left for the other guys to do that get undone. F.ex. I write the songs including drums, guitars, bass lines and vocal melodies and even lyrics when I'm not the vocalist. Then I record every instrument with the band mates. Mix the songs and master them. Film the music videos and cut them. Then if I tell the other guys to book some gigs they don't do it. That explains why I quit three bands last year. :)

The title of "having a record deal" making a difference in places although nowadays it doesn't mean anything. We set up our own record label and signed ourselves so basically no money used and suddenly when we could tell people we have a record deal which is basically BS people were a lot more interested in working with us. Oh yeah and our manager happens to have the same name as I do. He also gets a lot more phone calls than any band member ever did. Should've started BSing people a long time ago. In this day and age who needs a record label for anything but advertisement?

And ofcourse vocalists, drummers and bass players... but mostly vocalists. :D
 
Women

30 mins into the gig you make the eye contact - 45 mins into the gig she's dancing provocatively in front of you - 1 hour into the gig she's accepting drinks from other men - end of gig she's gone home with one of them

I'm never bringing my wife to a gig again :)
 
This is a great thread. Anyway, assuming you find musicians that you like, have talent and are on the same page regarding the direction of the band. Equipment....... Oh boy...... Guitarists need to have at least one guitar/Bass, Amp and cabinet not to mention mics, stands etc..... Seems logical right? Drummers need to have drums. Now here is the kicker, I can't tell you how many singers do not have the PA that amplifies that magical voice...... Am I the only one that meets singers that do not own a PA?
 
AminorZmajor said:
Now here is the kicker, I can't tell you how many singers do not have the PA that amplifies that magical voice...... Am I the only one that meets singers that do not own a PA?
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Man, you guys are playing with the wrong singers!!!!
I'm the lead vocalist.

I own at least 3 PA's.
I bring the PA to every gig (and I'll give credit to my guitar player who helps by transporting a subwoofer to the gigs....as I can't fit it all).
I own the drum mics (that's actually a pet peeve of mine).
I book the gigs.
I bring the set lists.
I maintain the website.
I track the gigs (16 track) and mix them down for us to listen to.
I built a sound proof room in my house for band practice. (which has a drum set, bass rig, guitar rigs and PA...which I own).

I do it all because I love it.
(well, except for the drum mics)
Not patting myself on the back (well maybe a little), but just saying that there are singers out there that have their sh*t together.
My guys do help though as well, they help loading/unloading at the gig, and everyone has a role when setting up the PA.

Gotta build a good team....that's the way I look at it. Slackers gotta go. My view on slacker band members is - they will be as irresponsible as you will allow them to be.
Choose wisely....
 
aleclee said:
Reading is a great skill. I had a seminar with a guitarist who was in the SNL band and she was quite clear that she wouldn't have gotten the gig without being a skilled sight reader. The problem is, as I stated earlier, that a lot of those folks can't play squat without music in front of them. They have zero ability to play by ear and don't know enough music theory to follow a I-IV-V in C major. Finally, I don't want to have to source sheet music for every song my band is going to play. The expense and brain damage of assembling music for anybody (let alone everybody) makes it a losing proposition IMO.
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I think this is a huge misconception about anyone who reads really well. I'll give you three examples: Jimmy Page, Steve Lukather and John Coltrane. I will say that these dudes can play circles around most musicians and area amazing improvisers, writers and artists. The list goes on and on.

Reading music is a skill, it's more developed in some musicians than others. It's no different than players who are good at certain styles of music over others. Ie good traditional jazz players vs rock musicians. It's just another musical skill. The end.
 
Not in _all_ cases!

If I didn't change strings every week on my Rickenbacker, it'd mean a broken string on Saturday without fail! .. and I always try one note per 5!...and..and... also, don't hassle the bass player - after all they own the PA! :lol

Pauly


Blaze said:
The most annoying part of being a musician? Bass players.

They play the entire night with one sound, at one volume, with no foot switches to mess with, they don't break strings, they aren't required to play chords, they play one note for every 4 notes played on a guitar (or more depending on how much the guitarist shreds), and yet they still get the most gigs and remain the most in demand player in a band. :lol
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aleclee said:
The problem is, as I stated earlier, that a lot of those folks can't play squat without music in front of them. They have zero ability to play by ear and don't know enough music theory to follow a I-IV-V in C major. Finally, I don't want to have to source sheet music for every song my band is going to play. The expense and brain damage of assembling music for anybody (let alone everybody) makes it a losing proposition IMO.
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It really depends on the band context and workflow of adding new songs to the repertoire.
In my band, as we play original tunes and no covers at all, we definitely need the midi files anyway, so this is not hurting us. In fact, when you can sit in front of a newly created midi file at rehearsals with the entire band, it's a lot easier to make style decisions or changes to songs. And as you can write them down instantly, there's no "oh, we changed that... I forgot."-situation ever.
 
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